Spam Text Messages - How To Make Them Stop

Do you ever receive spam text messages on your cell phone? I get them all the time and it drives me crazy. One morning I woke up to find 3 new text messages. One was an ad for an online poker website and the other two were from girls named Brandi and Kira. Apparently they both have a crush on me and want me to check out their website to see some "hot" pictures of them. Right.

These kinds of spam text messages are particularly annoying because we have to pay for them. Depending on the package you have with your cell phone carrier, each text message can cost anywhere from 10 to 50 cents. That doesn't seem like much, but when you start getting six, seven, or eight spam text messages a day, it really adds up.

So what can you do to stop them?

Well you can try complaining to your cell phone carrier, but don't expect to get very far. You may be able to convince them to credit you back some of the charges, but that's a major hassle. They'll keep you waiting on the phone forever and then they'll give you a hard time about giving you a refund. And who wants to deal with that month after month?

A better idea is to file a complaint directly with the FCC (Federal Communications Commission). They have the power to impose fines and other disciplinary actions against test message spammers. Once they get hit with tens of thousands of dollars in fines and legal expenses, they'll quickly forget about sending spam text messages.

You can file a complaint right on the FCC's official website. You'll need to provide the following information:

1. Your name and contact information.

2. The phone number that received the spam text message.

3. The date and time the message was received.

4. The product or service advertised in the message.

5. The name of the company that sent the message.

Now this last bit of information can be a little tricky. Spammers often use false names on their messages. But you can find out their real name and address by running a simple reverse number lookup. There are many websites that provide this service for a small fee.

Rugby World Cup Online - 3 Tips To Watch Rugby World Cup Anywhere In The World

I'm recommending 3 tips which anyone can enjoy watching the rugby world cup live matches anywhere in the world to the fullest. As a die-hard rugby fan for some years, this is the moment I have been waiting for. I can finally watch my favourite team the All Blacks doing their hakas and performing the ribs breaking actions against their rivals in the rugby world cup event.

The 1st tip is the most simple and no brainer way, just go to YouTube and type "rugby world cup" in the search box and you should see a list of videos appearing. However, because it free, you can expect millions of people to do likewise and you may experience poor video quality. Each video lasts a maximum of 10 mins only, a real turn-off when the excitement is there.

The 2nd tip is to go with a group of rugby fans like you and me and find a nice pub that will broadcast the event live. I believe you can party and have a great time cheering your favourite team and booing the rivals teams, together with your friends. That would be fun.

Ok, you are a loner or does not like the crowds because they are too noisy or you are afraid of drunkards flying their drinks around. Or, you are just a lazy bum who prefers to stay at your home and watch the matches. You may be even thinking of recording all the live matches so you can burn them to dvd and keep them for future watching. Whatever the reasons, all these can be achieved by just installing a special software which you will be able to receive crystal clear, high quality live video streaming of all the rugby world cup matches. It's cheap and you don't pay a bomb for that; and yes, it works on a laptop too. I'm currently use it to watch all the matches in my home and office.

How to Obtain Reliable Telemarketing Leads

Obtaining reliable telemarketing marketing leads is the name of the game when it comes to launching a successful telemarketing campaign. Without good qualified leads, you won't be calling people that will want your product and the chances of making a sale would be tough. And possibly your campaign budget will disappear before the necessary sales are generated, and your campaign will see its last days and you will be finding other ways to make some money. This should not be the case. Telemarketing is one of the better ways for part timers or those needing to supplement their income to make some spare cash on the side.

Just by working about one or two hours a day, anyone can earn a decent amount of money to offset some of their spending. Some of us are doing telemarketing full time, from home and earning an income that is more than sufficient. While it's not a secret that to any successful sale you need a lead, it is sort of a skill on how people go about finding these leads in the first place. Many telemarketers waste hours, days and even weeks of their precious time trying to piece together a list of contacts that they can work on to build a good number of leads and get initial responses to the product or service that they are trying to sell. This is integral to the selling process as through consumer education, strategies and pitches will be refined to the point of perfection.

It is more of a 2.0 phenomenon when it comes to successful selling - you need to fully understand your product before you can make any headway whatsoever and to do so, you need consumer feedback. Many major corporations often use initial focus groups and surveys to find out opinions on upcoming products and refine issues like design and ergonomics before they go full fledged into the market. This is the stepping-stone of any marketing campaign and you need to be able to get your hands on a highly targeted list from the very start of it all. Why? This is because through a targeted list, you will have a market that will, in the very least, consider your product for purchase.

Then, from there, this is where the initial feedback will come from and you can assess whether or not the product sells itself. Remember, you and your pitch are just secondary "fluff" to the product. The product must wow the consumer or at least fill a need. You are the walking literature and the Q&A handbook for this product. In the end of it all, marketing maxims are true and the product must sell itself. The market must have a predisposition to buy the product. Without them, then you have an uphill climb towards the all important sale. This is how you obtain reliable telemarketing leads. Everything else after, the phone conversations, the pitches, the sale itself, are just natural follow-ups to the foundations that you have already built with a quality list and a quality product.

A New Type of Luxury Car is Now Available - The Executive Mobile Office SUV

The idea of the right location for a business goes hand in hand with the choice of transportation. The business world has evolved so much so that, most businesses are working hard to keep up with the technology that is indispensable to their business.

Until now, Business people were wasting a lot of time in traffic or traveling in their cars because they could not work efficiently or did not have access to the internet. For these people, Time is worth a lot of Money! And big money is lost in traffic or while traveling because they cannot be as productive as if they were in their office.

This has changed: A new Type of Luxury Car is now available: The Executive Mobile Office SUV of the 21st Century. This luxury vehicle allows a businessperson to be able to work and communicate as if they were in their office! What are the benefits for the Businessperson? Lots of Time and Money saved while traveling, a much more comfortable time spent in the vehicle, meetings can be done inside the vehicle, vehicle is internet Wifi compatible, desks installed fore a better work experience, seats can lay for resting, little bar for hydration, privacy divider from the chauffeur, to name a few.

The vehicle itself has a fine finish and looks absolutely slick from the outside and it is easy to park. The Mobile Office can allow the technology that allows the Execs to work from wherever they may be. The internet can be available in the SUV so that work can be done and communication via email can be established.

Inside de vehicle, there is nothing but luxury everywhere you look. The customized interior and the equipment installed in the Mobile Office SUVs are outstanding. Everything that is needed to travel comfortably or to work is of high quality and is at the tip of the fingers.

The reclining seats are complimented by arm rests and sliding foot rests for total comfort. The seats are powered by electricity and can be set for back massage. On the side panels of the comfortable chairs, 2 folding desks are mounted and can be used for work. The Power Ports will run the laptops anytime they are needed. The 32" Flat Screen TV can be used to watch TV, play games, watch a movie and it can also be used as a computer monitor. There are 2 additional 7" Flat Screen TVs mounted on the right and the left pillars.

Music has always been a source of enjoyment, a mood lightening, an ambiance maker and a moral lifter. Music can help people to loosen up and to communicate better and, when it is needed to relax while in transit, it is available at a touch of a button.

The customizations of the SUV Mobile Offices are prompted by the demands and the need to keep in touch with life and to work from anywhere in the world. These Mobile Office SUVs are not exclusive to corporate Execs; private owners can enjoy all the benefits they have to offer.

It is fair to say that tech people are working to improve the workplace technology for tomorrow's global business. When the new, indispensable and important gadgets get here, they will also be built in the Mobile Office SUVs because it is our mission to make sure that sumptuous corporate and private transportation have the amenities needed for work and to insure a smooth and comfortable travel.

A last word: This new type of Luxury Car is actually less expensive than a regular prestigious car...

The Gift of Giving

The Act of Giving is something we all possess! We can smile at a stranger and that is our gift to them. When we dig inside the web of personalities, giving gives us a sense of empowerment and satisfaction.

When you receive a gift you feel special in a good way, you feel like your important. That truly is a wonderful gift to give anyone.

* When was the last time you smiled at a stranger?

* When was the last time you gave yourself a gift?

* When was the last time you did something nice with no thought of what you would get back?

One gift I know I have in my possession is Knowledge and knowledge can lead to power. Every person I share with I am giving them the gift of my knowledge, do I have to share.........no..........do I want to.........yes I do.

When we all do our online interacting, how do we make that other person feel special and important? Are we giving them a Cyber Handshake or Greeting out of the way? Are we commenting and encouraging? That is one way right now you can share a gift, yes it costs nothing but truly gains a good feeling for that other person. Did you know if you made there day that they would remember you better?

If you can lighten ones persons day and make a lovely impression on them what would you choose to do? Who Are you going to share you Gift with?

Manhunt Written By Janet Evanovich

Manhunt is a very humorous story of a rich woman, Alexandra Scott, who makes an exchange of her lavish condominium in New York for a cabin and hardware store in the Alaska wilds. Was she crazy? Sometimes she wondered but since most of what she owed on her condo was still mortgaged, she thought this as an adventurous but satisfying transaction.

When she gets to Alaska, Bruno, her huge dog falls into the water at the docks, followed by Alexandra also falling into the water dressed in her New York finery, has her dog rescued by someone who's identity she has no idea of, then drives off in her sports car into the back wilds of Alaska.

Alexandria wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city, enjoy quiet time, and maybe find a husband that would share her quiet life. She is quite taken back when she finds her cabin at the end of a rutted road that her car could not traverse. As she looks over her rustic cabin with its tin roof and very weather ravaged walls, she is unaware that someone is standing nearby looking at her and wondering what this woman was doing here near his cabin. It just so happened that this man, Michael Casey, was the same man that had rescued Bruno at the docks.

Casey and Bruno follow Alex into the cabin and Alex discovers that this cabin only has one room, a loft for sleeping, boarded up windows, and a mess that very much looked like no one had lived there for years. Casey's cabin was only one-quarter mile away from this mess of a cabin but Alex was determined she was going to stay in it and live her wilderness life. Since the inside was so bad, she decided to attempt to sleep in a small tent that first night. Between the bear and moose stories that Casey had told her and the noises she kept hearing, she didn't last long in the tent.

Eventually Alex got to see her hardware store and its strange clerk who lived in a back room of the store. It was filthy and had so little merchandise that a hardware store should have in stock that she started making plans for what she would do to this store and it's antiquated clerk.

Manhunt is filled with page after page of gut wrenching humor along with romantic adventures encountered by Alex in her wild wilderness. It is a fast but terrific read for anyone liking humor and deep woods romance. I have read many of Janet Evanovich's books and have enjoyed them but the humor makes Manhunt one of my favorites.

How to Overcome Fear

When it comes right down to it, there are really only two emotions that empower all that we do. And these two emotions are the basis of every other emotion in our life. And as you may or may not know, emotion married to thought will create your reality. And when your thoughts are empowered by fear - fear can prevent you from making positive changes. Read on to learn how to overcome fear.

Why Fear Limits Your Life Potential

Fear freezes you up inside. It prevents you from allowing yourself to think about what you might be capable of doing. When you're in fear mode, you're attracting more thoughts that continue to build that fear. Energy flows where attention goes, so if you're thinking a lot about what you fear, you're drawing more of those thoughts to you. You are not alone in allowing your fears to dissuade you from what you want to do in life. Fear is one of the biggest obstacles most people face when trying to better their life.

Fear Can Prevent You Making Positive Changes

Fear can make some of the smallest changes seem insurmountable. If, for example, you were deeply unsatisfied with your life inside that gray clad cubicle, fear might hold you back from applying or even looking for a better job. It may even prevent you from taking advantage of the internet, which abounds with money-making opportunities. Fear of looking stupid keeps people from making any kind of change in their life. Fear of what other people will think absolutely vapor locks many.

Fear Can Prevent You Expanding Your Life

Many people are fearful of taking a new class, or trying a new hobby or sport. Bottom line, fear is paralyzing. Have you ever dreamed of doing something wonderful, write a novel, do some interior decorating, design a dress, or build something? When the negative self-talk kicks in, oftentimes is more about fear than anything else. "I can't do that, I'll look stupid." "What if I mess up."

Folks - life is messy and you'll never know if enjoy something new unless you try it!

How to Overcome Fear

I know how you feel; I let fear of failure and then fear of success paralyze me so that I did nothing about my deepest passions. But then I found these wonderful e-book and other associated programs and suddenly, my fears started melting away. Soon I was doing what I'd always wanted to do and having great success with it.

It's How Well You Use Your Time

Have you ever heard someone say that he didn't have the time to do something, or that he was too busy to get something done? Why is it, though, that others consistently accomplish what these individuals seem either unwilling or unable to? Perhaps one of the best, and most concise explanations came from Sam Ewing, when he stated it this way, "It's not the hours that you put in your work that counts, it's the work that you put in the hours." In my over thirty years of involvement in nearly every aspect of leadership, from identifying and training, qualifying, and consulting, to serving in leadership positions in both corporate entities as well as non profit organizations, the one area that I have observed is most often misunderstand, over- emphasized, or misconstrued, is that far too many individuals equate the time spent with how well something is done. Many years ago, an organization discussed with me the possibility of serving in a leadership staff position, and during the discussions, one of the questions they wanted discussed, is how many hours per week I would dedicate to their group. I responded in a manner that, to this day, I believe far too many people continue not to understand. I replied that an efficient and capable person can often accomplish far more in considerably less time than most others. I then said that I could accomplish more than the others they might consider in ten or fifteen hours per week than others might get done in fifty, so why would you want someone wasting time on your "dime?"

1. Efficiency begins with doing excellent homework, so as to have the knowledge to be in a position to make wise, timely decisions. This then creates the ability to effectively plan, create goals, and work an action plan that directly relates not only to current needs, but also future ones. Rather than spinning one's wheels, and accomplishing little, the more effective and efficient leader uses his timely wisely and gets more done in far less time. The more efficient person is invariably less stressed, more effective and far more focused on the big picture and on possible ramifications.

2. Many studies show that many individuals in leadership spend the bulk of their time on unproductive matters. There is far too little attention given to priorities, needs and ideas, and far more is often done as a reaction to a perceived crisis, than to forecasting and preventing obstacles from getting to that unproductive stage.

If you really want to lead, be better prepared. Don't blame time or use it as an excuse, but wisely and effectively use your time to be more productive.

Starting the New Year Right

As the New Year is moving here fast, I am sure we all have our goals we are getting ready to try to accomplish in the New Year. What we must all remember to do is make sure we have reasonable goals that can be met. We cannot make a goal that is not in our means of reaching. If we make goals that are almost impossible to reach, we will get discouraged and give up. The whole reason for these goals is to improve ourselves one way of another.

As we make our goals, we have to really think about what is necessary. If your goal is to quit smoking, you may not be able to quit in one day. If you are trying to lose weight, do it with the end result in mind. I used these two examples for the reason being these are the most used goals for the start of the new years. Some people start off the New Year great. They move forward full steam ahead but, what happens is, the steam runs out fast. The reason being, everyone wants instant results. Sorry but that is not always the case.

We must do things in a steady pace and remember what the end result is going to be. We must make plans on how these things get accomplished and stay on the path. We have to try to not take short cuts on this path. When we find that we are getting the results we are trying for, we have to stick with it until the wheels fall off. No matter what you may hear from some people about a different way to do what you are doing. If you stray from the path and get a result that you are not looking for, you know what happens. "I did the best I can" or "nothing I try ever works." Now, why do you think it did not work? Answer: you strayed off the path and veered from the plans you made. Thus being said, of course you are going to feel like it is not working.

Now, when making a plan, we need to also remember that the first thing we try may not work for us. So, we need to find the right groove, system, whatever you want to call, that is good for us. In the beginning, this should be the only time we take advice about something to try. Now the reason I said that is, you need to find what works for you. If something does not work, keep looking till you find what does and stick with it. If it is working, don't try to fix it with something that may break it. This will bring on a most discouraging mind-set, which we really do not need to keep going forward on our journey. With some good planning, determination, and a will to do it, you will make it happen.

Now when making this plan you want to follow, start out light and build up from there. Take smoking for example, I found out that some people can say "I am done with this smoking nonsense" and they never pick up another one again. Some people have to take it slow and smoke less and less as the days go on. The ones that have to start out and back off slowly are the ones that have tried several times to just stop and could not do it. This is also the case with trying to lose weight, we may not be getting the results we thought we would get. When this happens, we tend to get discouraged and think nothing works. Then, we lose sight of our plan and abandon it all.

So, remember to build the plan, stay on the path we built for said plan, do not stray. Go slow and build up, not all at one shot. Remember it takes some time to see the results so, do not get discouraged on your journey, stay vigilant and keep moving forward. Do not let others tempt you to stray from your plans. Also, make your goals reasonable, don't shoot for the stars till you hit the sky first.

Thank you everyone and enjoy. Mike Coluccio.

CIALIS: The Impotence Killer

You have a desire to make love but you can't achieve an erection. Never mind, the cause is Erectile Dysfunctionand you have treatments available today. Erectile dysfunction is a very common phenomenon and experts estimate that ED affects thirty million men in U.S.

Erectile dysfunction is just like any other physical debility, do not categorize it as a sexual problem, doing this will make yours as well as your partner's life hell, and ultimately you will end up breaking your blooming relationship.

Before moving any further, it is necessary to explain what ED actually is- Also termed as impotence, erectile dysfunction is defined as the lack of ability to achieve or sustain erection compulsory for sexual gratification. ED is poles apart from other tribulations interfering sexual intercourse, such as lack of sexual desires, and problems linked with ejaculation or orgasm.

Factors which cause erectile dysfunction-

o High blood pressure and diabetes mellitus

o Psychological factors like stress, depression etc

o Nerve or spinal cord damage

o Cigarette smoking and alcoholism

o Medication side effects

o Socioeconomic factors-low income or any other professional problem

o Age

Erectile dysfunction and CIALIS magic

If you want to convert a tender moment into a right one, go for Cialis. Cialis is the third oral medicine approved by the FDA for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. After 22 clinical trials, the drug was approved as safe and efficient. Tadafil or Cialis is reasonable and provides amazing results.

It is advertised as a weekend pill and takes effect in 15 to 30 minutes. Cialis can be taken on an empty stomach unlike Viagra. The effect of magical Cialis lasts for 36 hours giving you all the time and space to prepare for a pleasurable sexual experience. Cialis has lesser side effects and it also allows you 36 hours to enjoy the wonderful act of love making.

Finding Products to Sell on eBay

So you've started a new eBay business, right? Unfortunately, you have probably run out of things around the house to sell online (and if you haven't, you will soon). Now it's time to start finding products to sell on eBay, besides the things you already own. In this article I will go over some of the best ways to get products for your eBay business.

Garage and Estate Sales - Garage and Estate sales are a great way to find some gems for a really low price. The saying "one man's trash is another man's treasure" still applies. Many people sell their items for a ridiculously low price, simply because they think it's trash. If they had checked eBay, sometimes there items are worth hundreds more than they think. Try to get to the sales as early as possible, as the best things sell out QUICK.

Thrift Stores - Thrift stores are another way in which you can find some products which will earn you a nice profit. Unfortunately, good items seem to be few and far between, but sometimes you'll come across that amazing item for under 10 dollars that sells for hundreds of dollars on eBay. If you have the time, you can make a pretty good amount of extra money simply by selling things you find at thrift stores.

eBay - If you want to make more than just some extra spending money, and want to turn your eBay business into a BUSINESS, you are going to need to look beyond thrift stores and garage sales for your inventory. One place where you can buy bulk items to sell on eBay is... eBay! In basically every category of goods on eBay, there is a section called Wholesale Lots, where people are selling their items in bulk for a discounted price. The downside to this, is that many times what you think is a deal actually isn't. Lot's of Wholesale Lots on eBay aren't priced competitively, and it's also hard to find quality products. Many times people sell lots of damaged goods, so you think you're getting a deal, but in fact the items are discounted because they're damaged.

HighProfitWholesale.com - If you really want to make a full-time living out of your eBay store, you are going to have to find legitimate wholesale suppliers. Someone selling their bulk lots on eBay are almost always NOT truly wholesale suppliers, they act as middleman by buying wholesale and selling for a higher price. At HighProfitWholesale.com, there are over 8,000 wholesale suppliers selling all sorts of products in bulk, and for much cheaper than the price you can sell for on eBay.

Now that you know where to get products to sell on eBay, go out there and get them! There's no reason why you cant be making a full-time income from your home-based eBay business.

What is a Living Will Registry?

We all get sick at some time or another and the older we get the more things go wrong with our state of health. We can not turn back the hands of time but we can do something to make sure that in the event that we are seriously injured, or sick in such a way that we are not able to speak in our own behalf, our best wishes and desires for treatment will be carried out to the fullest meeting our demands. This is one of the best ways to remain in control even when you yourself are out of action. Yes today we will learn about an important legal document known as a living will. Living will registry can only be understood by understanding what a living will is, what benefits a living will brings, and how we can register. Lets go and explore this interesting and exciting world of the living will. then maybe we can find the information we need to register to get one.

This kind of will is easiest to understand when it is broken down into two distinct parts. The first part is living. Back in the old western golden years wills where only made for dead or dying people therefore the term this is my last will and testament came to be. In this word combination however living means just that living or alive. So this will will be fully active while you are living in advance of your death. so if you are not dead but still helpless this document will be taken into consideration. The will of course is the legal document that makes your wishes mandatory to be carried out in the event of your death. Put these two words together and you have got yourself some protection just in case you are not able to inform people of what your wishes are while you are alive. Like if you are involved in a serious accident and are left brain dead.

Now that you know what a living will is though let us find out what a living will does for us that is so great. For one thing it protects our wishes ad our rights even when we can not stand up for ourselves. This is very important because with danger ever rising we never know when we may need something to stand up for us and our wishes when we are not able to.

There are many ways to register to get one and doing research can be an easy way to find a registering service.

The Term "Wellness" To Your Body

The term "wellness' has often been understood as the absence of illness or disease. However, many people fail to realize that like illness, there are many degrees of wellness. A person who is healthy may still be bored, depressed, tense, anxious or simply unhappy with their lives. Hence, wellness is not a static state and does not automatically mean that a person is only healthy. In general, wellness encompasses good physical health and the feeling of happiness and satisfaction. In wellness, the efficient and smooth flow of energy is important to your mind, body and spirit.

Your emotional wellness (emotional state) can influence your physical wellness (physical health) and vice versa. A person in an unhealthy resistance and is more vulnerable to development of illness or physical disease. The negative feelings can also lead to the development of unhealthy habits such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and drug abuse. Both your emotional and physical condition inevitable determines how you feel, if your appetite is good and the actions that you would undertake for the day. This can be attributed to a well balanced and smooth flow of energy in your body, giving you that "fell good" feeling. However, when there is interference to the flow, you may feel empty, confused, pressured or even suppressed and that can result in illness or disease.

Everyday, whether we eat work or play, we are exposed to many types of toxins and contamination from various sources that can affect our health. It is not uncommon to be exposed to toxins or contamination in our food, water and environment in our routine activities daily.

The meat and vegetables that we eat contain toxins such as antibiotics. The processed and packaged foods we eat in increasing amounts contain artificial flavors, colors, chemical preservatives and unsaturated fats, the substances that our body cannot use increase. Caffeine in soft drinks and coffee can affect the body's digestion. For those of us with unhealthy habits, there are also toxins in perfume, alcohol and cigarette smoke. People who are exposed to industrial chemicals, agricultural pesticides, radiation treatment (eg chemotherapy), irradiation and prescription drugs with side effects routinely acquire toxins.

What to Look for in a Golf Club Building and Repair Workshop

The condition of your golf equipment can highly impact your game so it's important to keep your clubs in top condition. When trying to decide on a golf repair center with whom you can trust your golf clubs, it is best to ask for references from fellow golfers. In addition to personal recommendations, this is what you should look for:

They should be able to provide a full range of golf club repair and maintenance services such as re-gripping to frequency matching and re-shafting. They should be able to provide a complete equipment analysis, club refurbishing and annual maintenance programs. They would grind out the nicks, polish the clubs, re-groove the heads and replace the grips. If the clubs need re-shafting they should be able to recommend the best set of shafts. Ask them if they can also do custom stamping of initials or other identifying marks for security. Oftentimes performance of existing clubs can be achieved by dismantling and rebuilding of the clubs. Shafts with a spine must be installed correctly to achieve uniformity throughout the set. In addition to club building and repair, they should be able to provide custom club fitting. The most important aspect of club building and analysis is the fitting. Your golf center needs to be able to fit for grips, irons, shafts, wedges, and woods, as well as provide ball fitting. Ask them about the technology they use. A good golf center will use a golf simulator for their fitting. They would gather the basic statistics on their clubs such as loft and lie, club head speed, ball speed and launch angle. During this process you should be able to test different club head, shaft and grip combinations to find out which work the best for you. An important indicator of suitability is to compare flex performance to swing speed. Once they have your fitting specifications and have made analysis of your clubs they should be able to make a recommendation as to what should be done to have your clubs perform the best for you. It may be a simple recommendation like bending clubs to adjust the loft or lie, or they can re-shaft and re-grip the clubs. Often it is only marginally more expensive to buy a new set of clubs. Armed with the information you have been provided with in the fitting and measurement process you can order clubs from your golf pro. A good club repair and building center should also provide putter fitting and building. The industry standard is to use a device that uses ultrasound to follow your swing path. They should also be able to provide testing for your existing putter and bend the putter to perfect specifications using a putter machine.

Knowing what to look for in a good golf club building and repair center will help you ask the right questions and find a place you can trust with your golf equipment.

Planning to Protect Your Family With Independent Trustees

Over the years, a number of our clients have expressed interest in ways to better protect their family. They may have taken steps to avoid probate and manage their investments during their lifetime as well as to minimize income, estate and gift taxes. However, many families are also concerned about making sure those inheritances last for the long term. In a world with high divorce rates and increasing numbers of lawsuits, asset protection and preservation is a critical concern for everyone. Many families would like to see their children and grandchildren's inheritance grow with a sound investment strategy and be protected from divorce, lawsuits and claims of creditors.

Along with customized trust and estate planning documents, Independent Trustees and Trust Protectors can enhance a family's asset protection strategy so that they will not lose their inheritance to predators and creditors.

Why an Independent Trustee?

Most people who have established a trust chose a family member as a successor Trustee to manage and distribute assets if they become disabled or pass away. A family member is an excellent choice for responsive management and understanding of family dynamics and circumstances, but most people know very little about the asset protection, investment, tax, accounting and fiduciary responsibilities of a Trustee.

A family member Trustee who is inexperienced with legal, tax and financial matters may inadvertently make mistakes or omissions that can create personal liability. They may even mismanage and deplete the funds for the beneficiaries of the trust. Family conflict can develop and legal fees, along with lower investment returns can destroy a hard earned family legacy.

Asset Protection

Better long term strategies may include a Trust that continues to manage your tax, legal, investment and asset protection planning objectives after you are gone, and as a result can provide significant advantages to your children and grandchildren. As the trust was created by you, and not a 'self settled' trust created by your beneficiaries for their own benefit, the assets in the trust are less vulnerable to your children or grandchildren's creditors (including lawsuit creditors and divorced spouses). However, in order to maximize asset protection of the Trust for children or grandchildren, an Independent Trustee should serve on the Trust.

The Independent Trustee will significantly enhance asset protection. If there is no Independent Trustee the assets of the trust could be exposed to bankruptcy, divorce, lawsuits and other creditors. If there is an Independent Trustee provided for under the terms of the Trust, asset protection is significantly improved. If you wish to leave a safe, secure inheritance, consider appointing an Independent Trustee to protect your family.

Investment Protection

One of the most overlooked duties of a Trustee is to manage all the Trust assets and investments to ensure that they remain productive and available for the beneficiaries as required by the terms of the Trust. Few Trusts have specific instructions for how a Trustee should manage and invest assets. Even if the Trust does include specific instructions, the Trustee must have the investment knowledge, or better yet, know how to find the investment expertise to manage Trust assets so that the Trustee can satisfy their fiduciary responsibilities.

While a Trustee does not have to personally oversee each aspect of the investment process, they are the overall manager of the process. It is a fiduciary who may be personally liable if the Trust's investments are too risky and funds are lost or if the Trust's investments are too conservative and the income stream provided by the Trust does not keep up with inflation. As long as there is a professional who plans and manages the investment so they meet the objectives of the Trust then the duty to manage and invest assets will be satisfied. For more information on an investment process that meets these criteria, please contact our office.

An independent Trustee with a solid understanding of the investment process is a resource to assist the family member Trustee in guiding the investment process as well as a way to make sure that the Trustee fiduciary duties are fulfilled while the investments are better managed.

What is a Trust Protector?

In addition to an independent Trustee, the Trust Protector is an important role to ensure that the Trust continues to meet its objectives as changes occur. A Trust Protector may be an individual or a group of individuals or corporations, including your Attorney, Accountant or a Trust Company. They are appointed in advance as a part of a Trust and they serve in their role when the Trust becomes irrevocable due to your death or disability. The Trust Protector is usually authorized to monitor and then fire or replace non-family member Trustees if they become ineffective and to amend a Trust that is otherwise irrevocable if legal changes, IRS opinions or scriveners' error have made it impossible for the Trustees' to fulfill your original wishes and intent. If a change is needed in an otherwise irrevocable Trust document, the Trust protector is in a position to make the change.

When you pass away, your Trust becomes Irrevocable and the provisions cannot be changed. However that does not mean there will be no changes in tax law or family circumstances. By naming a trust protector in your Revocable Living Trust you take steps to preserve your original intent, minimize the impact of taxes in particular the generation skipping transfer tax as assets pass from your children to your grandchildren and allow your family the flexibility it needs.

As you consider your estate planning alternatives, keep in mind the asset protection and planning advantages of making Independent Trustees and Trust Protectors a part of your family's team.